When you own a property with land or an equestrian property, more often than not there is an area of the plot which could lend itself to becoming more ‘wildlife friendly’. The good news is that there is now a very quick and easy way to create your own butterfly and bee friendly area thanks to a company who specialise in producing ‘Wildflower Turf’ – simply lay it, water it and watch your wildflower meadow grow.    

Courtesy of Wildflower Turf Ltd (www.wildflowerturf.co.uk) who pioneered Wildflower Turf and are experts in this specialist ‘field’ of developing wildflower solutions – listed below are some very good reasons why you should consider creating  a wildlife area at your property:

1. Species biodiversity. The wonderful thing about a wildflower meadow is that it is an ever changing picture with new species to spot each week throughout the Spring and Summer. Wildlife Turf Ltd manufacture several different types of turf to cope with different site conditions or to provide a different ‘look & feel’ depending on what you are looking for.

2. A Wildlife Haven. From the tiniest flying insects to colourful butterflies and moths, from larks and finches to barn owls and red kites your meadow will become home to a major food source for a wide range of wildlife. Pollinators such as wild bumble bees, moths, butterflies, wasps, beetles, hoverflies as well as honey bees have faced serious difficulty over the last 100 years with habitat loss, pesticides and the depletion of nectar sources. Without them, our £210bn per year food industry would be in serious difficulty, as well as our gardens and countryside looking far less beautiful.  By adding an area of wildflower into your garden you are providing a rich and essential food source for pollinators and have the reward of seeing pretty winged insects come into your garden. 

3. Garden Design Opportunities. A wildflower area provides all sorts of design opportunities.  A meadow can be a useful tool to link more formal borders to fields, or in areas of a garden where other species might find it more difficult to grow, being drought tolerant and requiring low nutrients. A wildflower meadow can survive on the most barren of land, so let your imagination run wild.

4. Low Maintenance – If you are having trouble with an existing area of your garden or land, an area too nutrient starved to grow much, or an area infested with weeds, then a wildflower meadow could solve your problems. Apart from the initial preparation of the soil, which means ridding it from weeds and creating a light tilth, there is little more that will be needed over the year. The turf is very quick to establish and requires no further input in the way of fertiliser. If laid in the summer it might require a small amount of watering in but it is particularly drought tolerant and the dense root bed of the Wildflower Turf also acts as weed prevention, virtually impossible for weeds to penetrate through. A wildflower meadow only requires one mow a year, normally in the Autumn time, clearing all of the cuttings so as not to allow rotting material to re-introduce nutrients into the soil.

5. Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas emissions. Wildflower areas in urban environments have been found to offer the most optimum green structure for air pollution removal. Different leaf forms provide a more complex surface so capturing a wider range of pollutant types. They have the potential for a net removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Reduced mowing, fertilisation, pesticide and herbicide treatments of wildflower areas will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution associated with these practices.

6. Quick, Guaranteed Results with Wildflower Turf. If you want quick results and to be able to sit back and enjoy a low maintenance, wildlife haven this year then Wildflower Turf can guarantee you a meadow very quickly. The bare root bed of the turf establishes incredibly quickly onto prepared soil in late April or May you would certainly be sat in a glorious meadow by the end of July.

7. Cost. The management of wild flower areas is estimated to be half the cost of a non-wild flower managed alternative. Being drought tolerant and low nutrient loving – wildflowers require very little in the way of inputs such as irrigation and fertiliser. The greatly reduced requirement for mowing means there is saving in time but also petrol required for your mower. And finally, once you have created a meadow, there is no requirement for replanting, it is truly a sustainable landscape that can be in existence for as long as it is wanted.

8. Tranquility, peace and quiet and sense of mental well-being. There is nothing like sitting among the wildflowers, submerged in their beauty. We now know for sure that there are huge benefits to being within beautiful green spaces, providing long term benefits to mental health.

‘Wildflower turf’ has over 200 Accredited Wildflower Installers throughout the country. They are fully trained in the preparation, installation and maintenance of all of their products. To find a wildlife turf installer near you simply use their postcode search tool and you can find a selection of installers that are close by.

Want to know more? Then check out the brand new book produced by the Managing Director of Wildflower Turf Ltd, James Hewetson-Brown “How to make a Wildflower Meadow” – you can purchase from them direct at www.wildflowerturf.co.uk for £16.50 per copy plus postage & packing.

Wildflower Turf Ltd

Ashe Warren Farm, Overton

Basingstoke, Hants, RG25 3AW

Tel: +44 (0)1256 771222

Email: wildflower@wildflowerturf.co.uk

‘Make it the year of wildflower meadows and in so doing, give one of the biggest charitable donations you could possibly make to nature and the natural environment’